Buvaisar Hamidovich Saitiev, also spelled Buvaysar Hamidovich Saytiev, (Russian: Бувайсар Хамидович Сайтиев, Chechen: Сайт КIант Бувайса) (born March 11, 1975 in Khasavyurt, Dagestan ASSR) is a Russian wrestler of Chechen descent, who has won nine world-level gold medals in freestyle wrestling. He Is widely considered the greatest freestyle wrestler of all time. [1]
Life
In 1992, Buvaisar left his hometown of Khasavyurt, Dagestan in order to train at a prestigious wrestling center in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Soon after graduating from the training center, Saitiev began his quest to represent Russia on the world stage. Buvaisar has been decorated with the Order of Friendship by the Russian president. His younger brother Adam Saitiev, also a wrestler, won gold in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Buvaisar's life philosophy has been heavily influenced by Nobel Prize-winning poet Boris Pasternak. Saitiev repeats the following poem before every match, and according to Buvaisar, the poem has defined his life both inside and outside of wrestling:[2]
It is not seemly to be famous
Celebrity does not exalt;
There is no need to hoard your writings
And to preserve them in a vault.
To give your all - this is creation,
And not - to deafen and eclipse.
How shameful, when you have no meaning,
To be on everybody's lips!
Try not to live as a pretender,
But so to manage your affairs
That you are loved by wide expanses,
And hear the call of future years.
Leave blanks in life, not in your papers,
And do not ever hesitate
To pencil out whole chunks, whole chapters
Of your existence, of your fate.
Into obscurity retiring
Try your development to hide,
As autumn mist on early mornings
Conceals the dreaming countryside.
Another, step by step, will follow
The living imprint of your feet;
But you yourself must not distinguish
Your victory from your defeat.
And never for a single moment
Betray your credo or pretend,
But be alive-this only matters-
Alive and burning to the end.
— Boris Pasternak, My Sister Life
Быть знаменитым некрасиво.
Не это подымает ввысь.
Не надо заводить архива,
Над рукописями трястись.
Цель творчества самоотдача,
А не шумиха, не успех.
Позорно ничего не знача,
Быть притчей на устах у всех.
— Борис Пастернак, Сестра моя — жизнь
Wrestling career
Saitiev has won nine world-level gold medals. He is a six-time world champion and a three-time Olympic champion. His senior-level international career began in 1994 and, to date, has continued on through the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. In thirteen years, he's entered eleven world championship tournaments, won nine world championship tournaments, and lost only two bouts.
In 1999, Buvaisar did not wrestle at the world championships. Instead his weight class was represented by his younger brother Adam, who won a gold medal. Saitiev also did not compete at the world championships in 2002. He lost to Magomed Isagadjiev at the 2002 Russian Nationals. Isagadjiev went on the win a silver medal at the world championships. In 2007 Saitiev was beat out for the Russian team by Makhach Murtazaliev, who went on to win the world title. According to media reports, Saitiev's training in 2007 was hampered by a neck injury
World Championships/Olympic Games Matches
Res. |
Record |
Opponent |
Score |
Date |
Event |
Location |
Notes |
Win |
46-2 |
Soslan Tigiev |
0-1,1-0,3-1 |
2008-08-12 |
2008 Olympic Games |
Beijing, China |
Wins Gold Medal |
Win |
45-2 |
Kiril Terziev |
Fall |
2008-08-12 |
2008 Olympic Games |
Beijing, China |
|
Win |
44-2 |
Ivan Fundora |
2-0,2-1 |
2008-08-12 |
2008 Olympic Games |
Beijing, China |
|
Win |
43-2 |
Ahmet Gülhan |
1-0,4-0 |
2008-08-12 |
2008 Olympic Games |
Beijing, China |
|
Win |
42-2 |
Cho Byung-kwan |
1-0,7-2 |
2008-08-12 |
2008 Olympic Games |
Beijing, China |
|
Loss |
41-2 |
Mihail Ganev |
3-0,2-2,1-1 |
2006-09-27 |
2006 World Wrestling Championships |
Guangzhou, China |
Loses on criteria despite outscoring opponent 6-3 |
Win |
41-1 |
Ivan Fundora |
5-3,7-2 |
2006-09-27 |
2006 World Wrestling Championships |
Guangzhou, China |
|
Win |
40-1 |
Maximo Blanco |
4-1,5-0 |
2006-09-27 |
2006 World Wrestling Championships |
Guangzhou, China |
|
Win |
39-1 |
Arpad Ritter |
3-0,3-1 |
2005-09-26 |
2005 World Wrestling Championships |
Budapest, Hungary |
Wins World Championship |
Win |
38-1 |
Mehdi Hajizadeh Jouibari |
6-0, 5-3 |
2005-09-26 |
2005 World Wrestling Championships |
Budapest, Hungary |
|
Win |
37-1 |
Salvatore Rinella |
6-1, 5-0 |
2005-09-26 |
2005 World Wrestling Championships |
Budapest, Hungary |
|
Win |
36-1 |
Nikolay Paslar |
3-0, 3-1 |
2005-09-26 |
2005 World Wrestling Championships |
Budapest, Hungary |
|
Win |
35-1 |
Malak Mohamed Osman |
2-0, 9-0 |
2005-09-26 |
2005 World Wrestling Championships |
Budapest, Hungary |
|
Win |
34-1 |
Gennadiy Laliyev |
7-0 |
2004-08-26 |
2004 Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
Wins Gold Medal |
Win |
33-1 |
Krystian Brzozowski |
8-0 |
2004-08-26 |
2004 Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
|
Win |
32-1 |
Murad Gaidarov |
3-2 |
2004-08-26 |
2004 Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
Gaidarov disqualified from Olympics after starting fist-fight with Saitiev after match. |
Win |
31-1 |
Emzarios Bentinidis |
6-1 |
2004-08-26 |
2004 Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
|
Win |
30-1 |
Arpad Ritter |
8-2 |
2004-08-26 |
2004 Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
|
Win |
29-1 |
Murad Gaidarov |
2-2 |
2003-09-12 |
2003 World Wrestling Championships |
New York, United States |
Won on criteria. Wins World Championship |
Win |
28-1 |
Hadi Habibi |
6-3 |
2003-09-12 |
2003 World Wrestling Championships |
New York, United States |
|
Win |
27-1 |
Talget Ilyasov |
9-1 |
2003-09-12 |
2003 World Wrestling Championships |
New York, United States |
|
Win |
26-1 |
Nikolay Paslar |
4-1 |
2003-09-12 |
2003 World Wrestling Championships |
New York, United States |
|
Win |
25-1 |
Jean Bernard Diatta |
Tech. Fall |
2003-09-12 |
2003 World Wrestling Championships |
New York, United States |
Saitiev elected to continue wrestling despite tech. fall. Final score: 34-2 |
Win |
24-1 |
Moon Eui-jae |
3-2 |
2001-11-22 |
2001 World Wrestling Championships |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
Wins World Championship |
Win |
23-1 |
Joe Williams |
5-4 |
2001-11-22 |
2001 World Wrestling Championships |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
|
Win |
22-1 |
Revaz Mindorashvili |
3-2 |
2001-11-22 |
2001 World Wrestling Championships |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
|
Win |
21-1 |
Kunihiko Obata |
7-0 |
2001-11-22 |
2001 World Wrestling Championships |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
|
Win |
20-1 |
Ruslan Khinchagov |
4-3 |
2001-11-22 |
2001 World Wrestling Championships |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
|
Loss |
19-1 |
Brandon Slay |
3-4 |
2000-09-28 |
2000 Olympic Games |
Sydney, Australia |
|
Win |
19-0 |
Plamen Paskalev |
8-2 |
2000-09-28 |
2000 Olympic Games |
Sydney, Australia |
|
Win |
18-0 |
Moon Eui-jae |
3-0 |
1998-09-07 |
1998 World Wrestling Championships |
Tehran, Iran |
Wins World Championship |
Win |
17-0 |
Marcin Jurecki |
Fall |
1998-09-07 |
1998 World Wrestling Championships |
Tehran, Iran |
|
Win |
16-0 |
Alexander Kahniasvili |
Tech. Fall |
1998-09-07 |
1998 World Wrestling Championships |
Tehran, Iran |
|
Win |
15-0 |
Victor Peikov |
Tech. Fall |
1998-09-07 |
1998 World Wrestling Championships |
Tehran, Iran |
|
Win |
14-0 |
Alexander Leipold |
3-1 |
1997-08-29 |
1997 World Wrestling Championships |
Krasnojarsk, Russia |
Wins World Championship |
Win |
13-0 |
Moon Eui-jae |
6-2 |
1997-08-29 |
1997 World Wrestling Championships |
Krasnojarsk, Russia |
|
Win |
12-0 |
David Bichinashvili |
7-0 |
1997-08-29 |
1997 World Wrestling Championships |
Krasnojarsk, Russia |
|
Win |
11-0 |
Arpad Ritter |
6-0 |
1997-08-29 |
1997 World Wrestling Championships |
Krasnojarsk, Russia |
|
Win |
10-0 |
Nicholas Ugoalah |
Fall |
1997-08-29 |
1997 World Wrestling Championships |
Krasnojarsk, Russia |
|
Win |
9-0 |
Park Jang-soon |
5-0 |
1996-07-30 |
1996 Olympic Games |
Atlanta, United States |
Wins Gold Medal |
Win |
8-0 |
Kenny Monday |
6-1 |
1996-07-30 |
1996 Olympic Games |
Atlanta, United States |
|
Win |
7-0 |
Alexander Leipold |
3-1 |
1996-07-30 |
1996 Olympic Games |
Atlanta, United States |
|
Win |
6-0 |
Momeni Issa |
8-0 |
1996-07-30 |
1996 Olympic Games |
Atlanta, United States |
|
Win |
5-0 |
Alexander Leipold |
3-2 |
1995-08-10 |
1995 World Wrestling Championships |
Atlanta, United States |
Wins World Championship |
Win |
4-0 |
Magomed Salam Gadshiev |
3-0 |
1995-08-10 |
1995 World Wrestling Championships |
Atlanta, United States |
|
Win |
3-0 |
Victor Peikov |
12-3 |
1995-08-10 |
1995 World Wrestling Championships |
Atlanta, United States |
|
Win |
2-0 |
Krzysztof Walencik |
Fall |
1995-08-10 |
1995 World Wrestling Championships |
Atlanta, United States |
|
Win |
1-0 |
Alberto Rodríguez |
Tech. Fall |
1995-08-10 |
1995 World Wrestling Championships |
Atlanta, United States |
|
External links
References
- ↑ http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/1/15/5309058/ufc-fight-night-35-factgrinder-the-wrestling-career-of-yoel-romero-olympics-saitiev-cuba, SB Nation, Retrieved June 18, 2014
- ↑ The Silent Gladiators, p. 237